Solar, wind to become cheapest energy in Asia: scientists

HELSINKI, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Finnish scientists believed that renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, will become the cheapest energy for consumers in Asia in next 10 years, Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported on Wednesday.

A joint project conducted by Finnish Technical Research Center (VTT), the Lappeenranta University of Technology and the University of Turku has successfully modeled comprehensive energy systems based entirely on renewable energy sources for China, South Korea and Japan, said Yle.

The project has recently won an award in Japan for its pioneering simulation work.

China, a leading energy consumer in the world, has become the world's largest investor in solar and wind energy, said VTT's Pasi Vainikka.

"China possesses significant wind and solar energy resources, so a power network based on renewable energy sources has the potential to become profitable very quickly," Vainikka was quoted as saying.

The researchers who participated in the project predicted that the price of solar electricity will drop by half within 10 or 15 years, so that the relative industries will become more profitable.